Bar Guide 2014

The where, when and why to drink in Salt Lake City & Northern Utah

Despite a few steps forward in our liquor laws in recent years, it can still be easy for Utah tourists to think that the state lacks a bar scene. And it's also easy for locals to forget how many welcoming watering holes and classy cocktail lounges surround them—those that've held down corners of the city for years, and those that've been springing up recently, despite the best efforts of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

This is the fifth year of our Bar Guide, designed to celebrate these establishments and educate our readers about the nightlife our state has to offer. In the past, we've taken the (literal) temperatures of their beers, and the (figurative) temperature of their rooms. But for this year's Bar Guide, we decided to cut out the middleman and let local bar owners and managers directly tell our readers what sets their bars apart. We've printed their "booze brags," which focus on the unique aspects of their drink selections, plus their verbatim descriptions of the bars themselves.

Armed with telephones and notepads, our staff worked their way through a list of Utah's nightlife hotspots—bars, of course, as well as music venues, strip clubs and family-friendly pubs and breweries—to record the information that follows in these pages. As a bonus, we profiled a few of Utah's longtime bartenders—the people who've got more of a sense of our community than the suits on the Hill ever will.

Bar owners are busy folks, though, and though we phoned and/or emailed every eligible venue, we couldn't connect with everyone. So if we missed your favorite bar or club, write us at comments@cityweekly.net and tell us what makes it special to you. We'll print the responses in our Letters section in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, we find that this guide pairs best with a cold one, so settle in at your favorite booth in your favorite dive, lounge or dance hall, and start planning your next pub crawl. —Rachel Piper, City Weekly Editor

BARS & CLUBS
Watering holes, cocktail lounges, neighborhood taverns and dance clubs—Utah is full of 'em, so we've divided the following list by area.

Salt Lake Valley East of Main

Alta Club
100 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City, 801-322-1081, AltaClub.orgBooze Brag: 27 whiskeys, traditional drinks.In Their Own Words: "Alta Club is a little different than other private clubs because we were founded as a private club."

Bar-X155 E. 200 South, Salt Lake City, 801-355-2287, BarXSaltLake.comBooze Brag: Bartender Roulette: Take your chances with what the bartender will make you. They'll ask you a few basic questions about your drink tastes and make you a handcrafted cocktail based on that.In Their Own Words: "Classic, sexy, dark, cocktails."

Barbary Coast Saloon4242 S. State, Murray, 801-265-9889Booze Brag: Probably the beer and a shot for $5.50.In Their Own Words: "We're the most versatile bar; it's for anyone and everyone, from bikers to businessmen and music fans to sports enthusiasts."

The Bayou645 S. State, Salt Lake City, 801-961-8400, UtahBayou.comBooze Brag: The Bayou sells more pints from the Firkin and from the Randall than any other draft, though they're offered only one day a week. They sell more Belgian beer than any other single style. Otherwise, with 300-plus beers, Guinness is still No. 1.In Their Own Words:"An excellent place to explore the world of beer, with great food and full table service."

Beer Bar
161 E. 200 South, Salt Lake City, 801-355-2287, Facebook.com/BeerBarSLCBooze Brag: 30 beers on tap and 150-ish in bottles.In Their Own Words: "We take care of our beer, from storing, maintaining, pouring, to presenting. But really, we're just a beer, man. We don't want to be too complicated."

Austen Diamond

Bongo Lounge
2965 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, 801-466-1577Booze Brag: The delicious grape Mind Eraser, known as The Radar—named after Radar O'Reilly.In Their Own Words: "A great neighborhood bar with friendly staff and regulars, a fun jukebox, darts, video bowling, many TVs to watch your sports and the cheapest prices in town!"

Bourbon House
19 E. 200 South, Salt Lake City, 801-746-1005, BourbonHouseSLC.comBooze Brag: Canned Hamm's, and the Pickle Back—a shot of Jameson followed by a shot of pickle juice.In Their Own Words: "A speakeasy-type place in the heart of Salt Lake; a great college scene with great prices."

Campfire Lounge837 E. 2100 South, Salt Lake City, 801-467-3325, CampfireLounge.comBooze Brag: The S'mores-tini, the PB&J (a pint of PBR and a shot of Jack Daniels), $3 Bloody Marys and mimosas during brunch, and other refreshing offerings like the Moscow Mule and huckleberry lemonade.In Their Own Words: "A cozy neighborhood bar where people can enjoy good food and drink in a relaxed atmosphere, with a slight semblance of sharing a camping experience with friends."

Cheers to You
315 S. Main, Salt Lake City, 801-575-6400, CheersToYouSLC.comBooze Brag: Cheers is the house of Mind Erasers.In Their Own Words: "Your neighborhood bar right downtown with a very comfy. inviting atmosphere."

Club 48
16 E. 4800 South, Murray, 801-262-7555Booze Brag: Special list of 48 customized shots created by all the bartenders.In Their Own Words: "We are your friendly neighborhood bar, kind of like Cheers, even with the mailman."

Niki Chan

Debbie Gundersen, Highlander Club

Debbie Gundersen has worked at the Highlander for 30 years, but spending so much time in one place hasn’t slowed her down. Indeed, the main complaint about her, she says, is that she never stays in one place, spotting an empty glass across the bar and immediately checking on the drinker’s needs. “I take it as a personal defeat if anybody is waiting for anything,” she says.

Gundersen worked at a 24-hour cafe as a young married mother, but in 1982, when she turned 21, her customers who went there for breakfast suggested she work at the bar across the road, then called Centerfold. Decorated with red velvet, gold and black wrought iron, she recalls, the club featured dancers in the afternoon “with very little on.”

The dancers and that décor are long gone, replaced by a watering hole (6194 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, 801-277-8251, HighlanderUtah.com) that lives up to its claim of being a Cheers-style bar. Those crowded at the Highlander bar are longtime regulars, genially cracking wise at one another’s expense. They’ll wave over newly arrived fresh faces and start chatting with them.

“If I can get somebody in here once, they’ll come back and keep coming back,” Gundersen says.

Much of that is due to Gundersen’s passion for bartending. She learned from an old hand that there are two secrets to good bartending: Never go anywhere without a tray, and look the customer in the eye and repeat the order, and you won’t forget it.

Gundersen’s clients express both deep affection and loyalty for her. When she quit in frustration over management issues in the 1990s, a regular told a former owner, “You either bring her back, or I’ll buy her her own bar across the street.” Gundersen came back.

Over the years, she says, the only thing she’s lost customers to is old age. She and the current owner thought about creating a plaque to mark those who have passed on, but there are simply too many names. They both attend each funeral.

If there’s a downside to bartending, it’s the lack of benefits—but that, she says, is the nature of the bar business. “If you’re going to stick with it, you’ve got to be smart enough to have your own plan.” She tries to put away a few hundred dollars every month for her approaching retirement—not that she wants to put down her tray anytime soon.